Oh my, but my Saturday morning was totally shot.
It all started when I read that my local Animal Control would be offering free vaccinations today from 7am-3pm.
Aubie is a bit late on her yearly shots, so I made plans to get up early and go.
Well, the getting up early part didn’t work out so well thanks to a marathon knitting session coupled with a DVR’d World Cup game from earlier in the day.
Think 1:30am.
Yeah.
So although the alarm went off at 6am, this Chick did not get up.
Until 7:30 when I figured I’d better hurry up and get going.
First, I checked the other dogs’ medical history. Good thing too. It turns out that Pele was due for shots in April, but I never received a reminder postcard in the mail.
Oops.
The thought of taking both dogs did not thrill me. Pele is very strong, and if you remember from previous posts, I become an Iditerod driver when I try to walk both dogs on leashes.
Yeah.
Happy Saturday morning to me.
Coupled with the fact that I have managed to hurt the arch in my left foot…overexuberance on the treadmill this week.
Yeah.
I wrapped sports gauze around my foot to give it more support, held my breath, and called the dogs to the car.
Excited pups is what they were…off for a ride in the Jeep.
After taking a wrong turn and driving around in no-man’s land, which is quite beautiful, I must say, but not when you know there are about a gazillion people wanting to get their animals immunized for free and you’re trying to beat them there, I finally found my way to the Animal Control facility.
I knew I was in trouble when I saw parked cars as I rounded the corner…way before the parking lot.
Great.
I managed to find a spot right across the street (thank you, Lord, for having mercy on this petite, 40 year old woman with two 50+ dogs).
And then I saw the line.
All the way back to the street.
Great.
The humidity level must have been in the 90%.
This is late June.
This is Florida.
It stays muggy 3/4 of the year.
Yeah.
What else could I do? I certainly cannot afford vet visits right now, so I got in line, pasted a semi-smile on my face, and waited.
The line barely moved…for hours.
I could see ahead and wished I was one of those people. Oh, I knew I would be…eventually, but I wondered if I would melt before then.
It’s a very good thing I’ve been running on the treadmill lately.
I’ve gotten used to sweat.
It ain’t pretty, nor am I when I’m covered with it.
Good thing I didn’t shower before I left.
Well, maybe it wasn’t a good thing for the people standing in front of and behind me.
Animal Control had planned things out well. There were kiddie pools (for the dogs, not the people) filled with water here and there. There were doggie drinking bowls everywhere.
The best thing?
State prison inmates and vet techs were walking around handing out cold, bottled water and cups of ice water.
I wanted a cup so badly, but I dared not let go of the leashes, which were wrapped multiple times around my hands.
The kind tech held one for me so I could drink a cup of water. Bless her!! She was an angel in scrubs.
We (the dogs and I) finally made it to the coveted tents that were set up near the building.
Ahhh…shade.
Aubie was tired by now. She’s almost 11 years old, and she decided that the shade was the place to be, laying down and enjoying it. Pele followed suit.
I felt so badly for the lady in front of me. She was a young, petite thing with two very young children in tow, in addition to a cat kennel (which got taken inside by employees as all felines were due to the heat) and a dog.
The dog was playful and kept trying to get Pele to engage.
Have you ever seen the movie Over the Hedge? Do you remember the part where the dog asks, “Play?”
Well, this dog reminded me of that cartoon.
Pele, however, did not like his rear being smelled nor being jumped on. He pretty much ignored that dog.
We finally made it to the building, and I thought the wait was over.
Oh heck no.
Have you ever been to Disney World or some other amusement park where you wait in line to get to the actual ride and discover that there’s ANOTHER line inside?
Yeah.
And the bad part was that the only thing separating me from the room where the vaccinations were being given were two long tables.
I’ve never wanted to cut in line so badly.
But I didn’t.
I have manners.
Plus, I think a few people would have taken me out.
heehee
At least there was air conditioning in the building.
We wound our way around the cages, commiserating with the sad, lonely dogs in each one.
Oh you guys. If I hadn’t already had three dogs, I could easily have brought two of those babies home with me. The worst ones were those in which the owners had surrendered them. It’s becoming the norm these days with the economy so bad.
Sigh.
Down one side, around the corner, and up the other side.
Finally, I was at the other side of that first room, watching others look at me enviously.
Yeah. I felt for them, but not so much since I’d done my time.
There was ONE examination room at the end. One owner and his/her pets were being admitted at a time.
I experienced quite the thrill when I heard, “Next,” and it was my turn.
The business was quick, and it was time to go.
The dogs were in Happy Land. It was all I could do to contain their excitement as we made our way back to the Jeep.
Aubie stretched out in the back seat, finally able to relax as the air cranked out as high as I could make it go.
Three very long hours.
Well worth it.
Filed under: Pets | Tagged: dogs, Pets, vaccinations | 1 Comment »
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